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Are you in a rut? Got writer's block? Need a boost of inspiration or motivation? Do you feel short on fresh ideas? Are you stuck trying to figure out a stage logistics problem?
Read a play. See a play. Do a play. Again. I find that one of the best cures for writing woes is taking time out to examine plays up close. Again. Observe what the masters did. See what the contemporaries do. Occasionally you'll see hacks and hams. It's inevitable. And it can be frustrating: while we toil to write, produce, and publish plays, it sometimes seems that people with much less talent enjoy more success. How does it happen? I believe that some of these success stories are good marketing of mediocre material. What kind of results do you expect from good marketing of your material? Read a play. See a play. Do a play. Again. What makes each playwright's style unique? Consider the dialects and usage. Does it seem conversational? Do small speeches reveal great things? Are idioms used? What makes the great ones stand out? Consider the things you enjoyed most about the play. Consider whether it is a play you'd like to write. Even if it's not in your genre or personal taste, consider why it remains great. What mistakes do amateurs make? Consider what things you would do to improve upon the material. Were speeches too long? Or too windy? Were words strung together in an awkward way that easily caused the actor to stumble? Can any of these elements help you to write better now? Let your imagination go. If you get this far following this recipe, you're writing again. At least mentally. It's only an exercise, but what you're doing is dissecting the writings of others to discover, understand, and apply. And after all, that is a proven path to creativity. Read a play. I have about 600 plays on my bookshelves. I've read about 75% of them. When you read a play through for the first time, you can take on the perspective of a director considering a show for the next season. What visual images go through your mind while you read? Will it work for the audience? Who is the audience? What is the size of the stage? What are the resources for costumes and sets? How would you cast it? What does the set look like? Imagine the costumes. What might be the budget? |
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